Reusable ‘Nanosheets’ Soak Up Pollutants at 30 Times Their Weight

A next-generation material first earmarked for use in electronics has proven itself a capable clean-up agent for polluted waters.

Boron nitride, or “white graphene”, can soak up organic pollutants such as industrial chemicals or engine oil in incredible amounts for their size, according to a report in Nature Communications.

These porous sheets, which together form a coarse white powder, vastly outperformed sheets that did not have the pores, and commercially available chunks of boron nitride that is not made up of the tiny sheets.